Radical Truth

George Carlin once said the planet doesn't need saving; the planet is fine. It's the people who are fucked. He was talking about a different kind of delusion, but he might as well have been watching a Climeworks investor deck. I've spent thirty years in the impact space. Thirty years of watching money that was supposed to change the world get dressed up in language that would make a ma...

What does it take to walk away from a global retail dynasty and redirect your wealth toward healing the planet? Stephen Brenninkmeijer did exactly that — and in this episode, he tells us how. In this episode of TBLI Radical Truth, host Robert Rubinstein sits down with Stephen Brenninkmeijer, private investor and founder of Willows Investments, to explore his remarkable journey from family business...

Can a pension fund managing £30 billion in public money genuinely integrate ESG and impact investing — without sacrificing returns? Denise Le Gal, Chair of Brunel Pension Partnership, says yes. And she has the results to prove it. Brunel is one of eight national Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) pools in the UK, bringing together the investments of 10 like-minded funds. In this episode of TBL...

Why did a consortium of the world's most risk-averse institutions—including the World Bank Treasury, BNP Paribas, and Amazon—just pour $91 million into a forest that does not yet exist? In this episode, Robert exposes the bizarre, inverted logic of modern climate finance. We break down the strange math behind a massive cross-border deal funding 50,000 hectares of "future forest" in S...

How does a true political underdog come from absolute obscurity to win the election for Mayor of New York City, defying every expert who said it was impossible? In this reflective episode, recorded on a brilliant Indian Summer day along the canals of Amsterdam, Robert looks back at his roots as a Brooklyn kid to unpack the monumental upset victory of Zohran Mamdani . This isn’t just a conversation...

How do you lift the poorest farmers out of poverty while building a world-class business? 🌾 On the latest TBLI Radical Truth podcast, host Robert Rubinstein sits down with Arvind Narula, Chairman & Founder of the Urmatt Group. With 30+ years pioneering organic agriculture across Thailand, Argentina, and Laos, Arvind drops unfiltered wisdom on what it actually takes to scale purpose-driven bus...

Why, after decades of high-profile "impact" conferences and trillions in capital pledges, have the underlying mechanics of the financial system barely moved? In this episode, recorded in the run-up to the PEI Impact Investor Global Summit in London, Robert delivers a sharp, structural critique of why the financial system aggressively resists working for all stakeholders. Every year, asse...

Have the global financial elite invented an entirely new way to feel good about themselves while doing absolutely nothing to fix the system? In this episode, Robert exposes The Impact Mafia —the exclusive club of high-net-worth individuals and fund managers using the beautiful language of "impact investing" as a convenient smokescreen. We look past the $5,000 suits, the champagne galas,...

A high-powered banker walks away from a massive salary and a prestigious title. Why? Because he realized he was optimizing spreadsheets for people strip-mining the planet, and he wanted true, nature-based solutions. In this episode, Robert breaks down why the financial industry’s obsession with being "nice" is actually fueling the climate crisis. We dive into the critical difference betw...

Where your money sleeps at night matters. Think about that for a second. The deposits sitting in your checking account tonight don't sleep. They get lent out. They fund somebody's pipeline, somebody's prison contract, somebody's payday loan operation — or they fund a small business in a neighborhood the financial system spent a century walking past. You didn't choose any of tha...

What if the real gender gap isn't pay — but ownership? Women in management and on boards exit the companies they help build with, on average, just 1% of the equity. In this episode of the Radical Truth Podcast, host Robert Rubinstein sits down with Michaela Berglund, CEO of Feminvest and Feminvest Ventures — the Stockholm-based fund and 50,000-strong community backing companies that are at lea...

What if the fastest way to save Earth was to build a village on the Moon? That's not science fiction. That's the radical, rigorously-thought-through proposition behind Project Moon Hut — and at the centre of it is David Goldsmith, one of the world's most provocative innovation thinkers and the architect of the Mearth (Moon + Earth) economic system. In this episode of Radical Truth, hos...

Welcome to the TBLI Radical Truth Podcast — the platform dedicated to the pioneers redefining the purpose of capital.  Real experience. Real results. No greenwashing. For over 25 years, TBLI Group has been the world’s leading ESG and impact investing network—educating, advising, and connecting investors to build a sustainable and equitable future. I'm your host, Robert Rubinstein, and today we...

Welcome to the TBLi Radical Truth Podcast, where we challenge the fundamental assumptions shaping how we lead, organize, and create value in a rapidly changing world. In an era defined by VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity), traditional leadership models are no longer sufficient. In this episode, we are joined by Stefan Beiten, a serial entrepreneur and the visionary founder...

In this TBLI Talk, Rennie Hoare — Partner and Head of Philanthropy at C. Hoare & Co., the UK's oldest private bank — shares the 20-year journey to total portfolio impact: 100% of reserves invested to deliver positive social and environmental outcomes alongside financial returns. Since 1985, the Golden Bottle Trust (which donates 10% of the bank's annual profits) has made over 10,000 gr...

The True Story of Davos: How a Swiss Mountaintop Meeting Became the World's Most Powerful Annual Gathering What if the world's most influential economic forum started as a small academic conference in the Swiss Alps? Barbara Erskine was there for the transformation—and in this episode of TBLI Radical Truth, she reveals what really happened behind the scenes. As Director and Executive Board...

FOR SPOTIFY (UNDER 4000 CHARACTERS): ESG Frontline Practitioner's Guide: Social Impact & Development Finance in Southeast Asia What does ESG implementation actually look like on the ground in development projects? Anthony Zola has spent decades finding out—and in this TBLI Radical Truth Podcast, he reveals the unfiltered truth about social safeguards, resettlement challenges, and why lende...

How do you transform century-old aid organizations into financially sustainable social enterprises? Henri van Eeghen has done it multiple times—and in this TBLI Radical Truth Podcast, he reveals the strategies that work. Henri van Eeghen is Former CEO of New Energy Nexus—the world's leading organization supporting clean energy entrepreneurs and climate tech startups globally. With extensive in...

Can shareholders force Shell, BP, and ExxonMobil to abandon fossil fuels? Mark van Baal proved they can—and reveals exactly how. Mark van Baal is founder and executive director of Follow This, the Amsterdam-based shareholder activism organization that's rewriting the rules of climate action. After a decade as a climate journalist inspired by Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth," Mar...

FOR SPOTIFY (UNDER 4000 CHARACTERS): Myanmar Crisis 2026: The Hidden Cost of Capital By January 2026, Myanmar's humanitarian crisis has reached a staggering breaking point: 3.6 million people internally displaced. While the world looks away, the military regime weaponizes the country's natural wealth—jade mining, rare earth minerals, and mega-hydro projects—to fund a war against its own ci...

What if everyday investors could fund renewable energy projects and sustainable startups driving climate solutions—without venture capital connections or millions in capital? Ellen Hensbergen is making it happen, and in this TBLI Radical Truth Podcast, she reveals how equity crowdfunding is democratizing impact investing across Europe. Ellen Hensbergen is Managing Director Benelux at Invesdor—Euro...

How Pension Funds Can Save the Planet: Stewardship vs. ESG | Catherine Howarth (ShareAction) Trillions of dollars in pension funds hold the power to dictate the future of our planet, yet most of that capital remains passive. Why are your retirement savings not being used as a massive lever for climate and social change? In this TBLI Radical Truth Podcast, host Robert Rubinstein sits down with Cath...

Why has global climate diplomacy struggled to keep pace with the crisis? In this TBLI Radical Truth Podcast, host Robert Rubinstein sits down with Yvo de Boer, former Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC and lead architect behind the Kyoto Protocol and Copenhagen negotiations. Yvo strips away diplomatic jargon to reveal why UN climate policy stalls and why the private sector—not just government—is th...

Is your morning coffee fueled by child labor? In this TBLI Radical Truth Podcast, host Robert Rubinstein sits down with Fernando Morales-de la Cruz, founder of the Lewis Hine Organization and a relentless watchdog for the global coffee industry. Fernando exposes the "radical truth" behind the marketing: how global corporations use greenwashing and misleading sustainability labels to mask...

Are carbon credits actually delivering on their promises? In this TBLI Radical Truth Podcast, host Robert Rubinstein sits down with Thibault Sorret, CEO of Equitable Earth (formerly ERS), to discuss the future of the Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM). Thibault reveals his "radical truth" on how we can move past the current crisis of opacity toward a system of digitized trust. We dive deep in...